Apparatus for drying cloth.



E. B. DAVIS. APPARATUS FOR DRYING CLOTH.

APPLIOA'HON FILED FEB. 16, 1910.

Patented Jan. 17,1911.

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- 11. B. DAVIS. APPARATUS FOR DRYING CLOTH.

APPLICATION FILED FEB. 15, 1910. 981,621 Patented Jan. 17, 1911.

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E. B. DAVIS; APPARATUS FOR DRYING CLOTH.

APPLICATION FILED 223.15, 1910. Patented Jan.17,1911.

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E. B. DAVIS. APPARATUS FOR DRYING CLOTH.

APPLICATION FILEDIBB. 16, 1910. Patented Jan. 17, 1911.

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NITE STATES ATENT OFFICE. I

EDWARD B. DAVIS, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, ASSIGNOR TO THE HYDRAULIC PRESS MANUFACTURING- OOIVIPANY, OF MOUNT GILEAD, OHIO, A CORPORATION OF OHIO.

APPARATUS FOR DRYING CLOTH.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Jan. 17, 1911.

Application filed February 15, 1910. Serial No. 543,953.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, EDWARD B. DAVIS, a citizen of the United States, residing at Chicago, in the county of Cook and State of Illinois, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Apparatus for Drying Cloth, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to apparatus for forming folds or festoons in cloth after it cloth in a series of depending folds or festoons.

In the accompanying drawings :Figure 1 shows a side elevation of a cloth-folding apparatus, embodying my improvements. Fig. 2 shows an end view of a plurality of overhead tracks which are shown in side elevation in Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is a detail View in perspective of one of the bars which support the cloth during the folding operation. Fig. 1 is a front view and Fig. 5 is a rear view of the cloth-folding and forming mechanism. Fig. 6 is a plan view, and Fig. 7 is a side view of overhead tracks in which the carrying chains are driven from the rear instead of from the front of the apparatus, as shown in Fig. 1.

The fabric to be dried is brought in a uni formly wet condition and in a roll to my improved apparatus. This comprises a plurality of overhead tracks, a floor track at right angles to the overhead tracks at one end of the latter, a truck arranged to run on the floor track, cloth-elevating and foldforming machinery carried by the truck, and a plurality of cloth-supports raised by the cloth-elevating machinery and arranged ,to be delivered onto and carried transversely along the overhead tracks, such cloth-supports carrying the cloth in a series of clepending folds.

The overhead tracks each comprise a pair of rails, 12, which in the present instance have a cross-section in the form of an angle, the leg of one rail facing toward the leg of the other rail. The horizontal legs form the supporting track or bearing for the cloth-supports. These consist of a plurality of bars, 13, most advantageously of wood, each bar having its two ends square in cross-section for a short distance back from the respective end, the part of the bar intermediate the two squared portions being of any desired form, but preferably round in cross-section. The bars are arranged to extend from one rail to the other of a track, the ends resting upon the upper surfaces of the horizontal legs of the respective angle rails, these squared ends allowing the bars to slide along the track while preventing said bars from rotating on their axes. The cloth-supports are of such a length as to receive cloth of the maximum width which is to be used. In order to slide said clothsupports or bars along the respective track, suitable cloth-support-moving means is provided as a permanent part of the overhead apparatus. This moving means in the pres ent instance comprises a pair of endless chains, 14, one for each rail, and means for moving these two chains synchronously in the direct-ion of the length of the track, each endless chain having the lower surface of its upper member about level with the upper surface of the horizontal leg of its respective rail, the said upper member of each chain running lengthwise of the rail, just over the same. The chains pass around suitable sprocket wheels at each end. The sprocket wheels, 16, at that end of the track most remote from the cloth-elevating and fold-making apparatus, which will be termed the rear end of the track, are journaled on stub shafts, 17 carried by depending arms, 18, secured to the rail hangers, 19, which hold the ends of the respective rails.

The sprocket wheels, 20 at the front end of the track are arranged to be driven synchronously by suitable driving mechanism, that employed in the present instance being as follows: Each front sprocket wheel, 20, is fixed to a short shaft, 21, rotatable in a suitable bearing, 22, supported by an arm, 28, depending from the corresponding rail hanger, 24, and upon this shaft, outside the bearing, is fixed a gear Wheel, 25. Above the horizontal plane of the track rails is arranged a transverse shaft, 26, carried in suitable overhead journal bearings, 27, this shaft having two gear pinions, 28 and 29, one at each end, these pinions being arranged to mesh with the respective gear wheels, 25, which drive the front sprocket wheel shafts. The transverse shaft also has at one end, preferably the right hand end, a sprocket wheel, 30, fixed to it and arranged to receive a sprocket chain, 31, which hangs toward the floor and serves as a means for operating the track mechanism by hand from the fioor whenever necessary. Furthermore this sprocket chain, 31, may be connected to suitable driving mechanism on the cloth-elevating and fold-making appa ratus as will be fully explained hereinafter.

In Figs. 6 and 7 are illustrated a modified form of the overhead track apparatus in which the carrier chains are driven from the rear instead of from the front. In this con struct-ion the front sprocket wheels, indicated at 60, around which pass the trackchains 61, are rotatably mounted on stubshafts 62. Above one of the sprocket wheels 60, is a stub-shaft 63, upon which are revolubly mounted two sprocket wheels 64 and 65,'fixed to each other, the smaller sprocket wheel (54 being arranged to receive the pendent drive chain such as was indicated at 31 in the construction previously described. The other sprocket wheel 65 is arranged to receive the front end of a horizontal drive chain (36, which passes around a sprocket wheel 67 at the rear of the machine, the latter being fixed on a shaft 68, which extends across the rear of the machine and is provided with two pinions 69, in mesh with gear-wheels 70, fixed on short shafts 71, provided with sprocket wheels 72, around which pass the rear ends of the respective track-chains 61. By this construction the track-chains are operated from the rear so as to draw the upper members of each trackchain toward the rear.

I11 order to avoid the swaying of the lower members of the track-chains each is supported in a suitable manner as by the rails, one of which is indicated at 73, each rail being supported by suitable hangers 74.

The cloth-elevating and fold-making ap paratus consists in the present instance of a base, 32, mounted on wheels, 33, to form a truck which runs in the fioor track, 34, running transversely to the overhead tracks and at the front of the same. Upon the base is mounted a suitable framework having two upward-extending inclined arms, 35, pivoted on the framework as indicated at 36 and provided with means for permitting the inclination of the arms to be varied. In the present instance the lower end of each arm is provided with a sectional gear, 37, meshing with toothed quadrants, 37 fixed on a transverse shaft, 37, arranged to be operated by a hand lever 37 By moving this hand lever 37 the arms 35, can be swung to a limited extent to vary their inclination and then the lever released, a suitable stop 37 being provided to hold the arms at the desired position. In order that the arms may move together, and to stiffen the structure, the arms are connected near the top by suitable means, as for example a stirrup, 38, which extends outward toward the front of the machine. At the upper ends of the arms and inside the same are mounted sprocket wheels, 39, carried on stub-shafts, 40, fixed in the arms. In the framework is journaled a shaft, 41, having two sprocket wheels, 42, fixed upon it in line with the respective sprocket wheels 39, at the upper ends of the inclined arms, and around the corresponding pairs of sprocket wheels pass sprocket chains, 43, for elevating the cloth-supports, each chain being provided with projections, 44, at suit-able .intervals. A suitable race-way is provided in the framework to feed the cloth-supports or bars to the elevator chains, this raceway in the present instance consisting of two inclined trackmembers, 45, of channel crosssection secured to the inside of the framework at opposite ends thereof and having their flanges facing each other, the clothsupports or bars, 13, being placed upon this raceway at the front end and sliding down between the flanges into the path of the projections or bracket arms, 44, on the elevator chains, which projections lift the bars one by one at predetermined intervals, the upper flanges of each channel being cut away at the ends nearest the chains, in order to allow the cloth-supports to be lifted out of the race-way. The projections on the elevator chains are relatively few in number and the intervals between them on the respective chains determine the lengths of the folds in the cloth. Above the lower sprocket wheels,

42, for the elevator chains is mounted a,

main roller, 46, whose arbors are journaled in the framework, one arbor extending outside the framework where it is provided with a sprocket pinion, 47, outside of which is a suitable means for applying power to operate the mechanism, this consisting in the present example of a hand crank, 48. A sprocket chain, 49, passes around the sprocket pinion, 47, and around a sprocket wheel, 50, fixed on the shaft, 41, which drives the elevator chains. The framework is provided with two brackets, 51, which are slotted at their upper ends to receive the arbors of a presser roll, 46*, which may ride over the main roll and by its weight serves to hold the cloth in contact with the latter. At the front of the framework, means is provided for mounting a roll of cloth, as for example by providing slots, 52, in the framework to receive the arbor of a roller, as indicated at 10 on which the roll of cloth is wound. The cloth-elevating and fold-making apparatus may also be provided with means for driving the overhead track mechanism, this consisting in the present instance of a sprocket wheel, 54, provided with a hand crank, 55, and mounted on a stud, 56, carried by an adjustable holding device, comprising two rods, 57, movable longitudinally in sockets which can be clamped by a hand nut, 58.

hen the cloth-elevating and fold-forming apparatus is to be used it is brought opposite the desired overhead track, and the downward extending sprocket chain, 31, of the said overhead track mechanism is placed around the sprocket wheel, 54, whereupon the axis of the latter is moved downward to tighten the same and is clamped in this position. Then by turning the hand crank, 55, the overhead track mechanism is set in action.

The manner of using this apparatus is as follows: The race-way is filled with clothsupports and the elevator chains moved to lift one from the race-way to a slight extent. The roll of cloth is mounted in the foldforming apparatus by inserting the arbors of the roller on which the cloth is wound in the slots, 52, in theframework. The end of the cloth is then led between the rollers 46 and 46 and drawn out horizontally between the two inclined arms, 35, and over the particular cloth-support at that time on the elevator chains, the cloth being drawn out beyond the said cloth-support a distance equal to the length of a fold. By then rotating the crank, 48, the cloth is drawn from its roll and the first cloth-support is elevated, thereby elevating the first fold of cloth. At the proper time a second clothsupport is caught by the projections on the elevator chains and elevated until it comes into contact with the underside of the cloth and lifts the same to form another fold. By continuing to rotate the crank, 48, the cloth is formed into folds and the various clothsupports elevated. As the cloth-supports reach the top of the apparatus their ends enter the respective track rails and rest upon the endless chains of the overhead track apparatus. By then turning the crank, 55, the said endless chains, 14, are moved to carry the cloth-supports along the said track toward the rear, the cloth hanging in folds between the supports. When one track has been filled with cloth-supports carrying folds of cloth, the chain, 31, is removed from the sprocket wheel, 54, the inclined arms, 35, are swung forward to disengage the said arms from the overhead track mechanism, and the truck moved along the track until the clothelevating and fold-making mechanism is opposite an empty track whereupon the inclined arms are lowered and the sprocket chain, 31, of such overhead track mechanism is placed on the sprocket wheel, 54. Thereupon the operation may be continued as before. When the cloth has hung until it is dry, it may be removed from either end of the track, but preferably at the rear, and is folded or plaited into bales or bolts.

What I claim is:

1. In a cloth-hanging apparatus, the combination, with a plurality of overhead tracks, of a. cloth-elevating and fold-forming apparatus movable transversely to the overhead tracks and arranged to fold and elevate folds of cloth to any one of the overhead tracks, and means on the overhead tracks for holding said folds.

2. In a cloth-hanging apparatus, the combination, with a plurality of overhead track mechanisms, each having rails and means for moving cloth-supporting devices along said rails, of a cloth-elevating and foldforming apparatus movable into line with any overhead track mechanism, and arranged to fold cloth onto said cloth-supports and elevate the latter to the respective overhead track mechanism.

3. In a cloth-hanging apparatus, the combination, with an overhead track comprising two rails, and cloth-supports arranged to travel on said rails, endless chains inside the respective rails and means for supporting and moving said chains, of a movable cloth-elevating and fold-forming mechanism arranged to elevate cloth-supports and cloth to the overhead track, and driving mean carried by said cloth-elevating and foldforming mechanism and arranged to be engaged with the means for driving the endless chains of the overhead tracks, whereby the latter are operated from said driving means.

4. In a cloth-hanging apparatus, the combination with a plurality of overhead tracks, each having rails and means for moving the cloth-supporting devices along said rails, of a cloth-elevating and fold-forming apparatus comprising a truck movable transversely to the overhead tracks, the upwardly extending inclined arms carried by the truck, means for varying the inclination of these arms, and cloth-elevating devices supported by said arms.

In testimony whereof, I afliX my signature in the presence of witnesses.

EDWARD B. DAVIS.

WVitnesses:

PAUL G. PooooK, HARRIE C. LITTLE. 

